Laundry drier



Sept. 28 1926.

l/VVE/VTUA? 21170514555 Patented Sept. 28, 1926.

UNITED STATES MAUBZ ICE DUGASSE, CESAR FRANCISCO, GALIJOBNIA.

LAUNDRY DRIER.

Application filed October '12, 1925. Serial m. 81,916.

This invention relates to improvements in laundry driers of the type which employ air as a drying agentby taking in atmospheric air into a chamber or casing containing air heating means and causing-the heated air to circulate through a perforated revolving drum in which the clothes to be dried are contained, and furthermore by providing for circulation of cool air after the hot air drying operation, to complete the drying operation.

' The main purpose of the invention, 1s to provide for a simply constructed and compa'ratively inexpensive'drier'of the character described which will operate reliably and effectively to dry large quantities of clothes. in a comparatively short time and which is simple, and inexpensive as to operation, there being a specially constructed and arranged means for controlling the intakin of,

hot and cold atmospheric an to be use as a drying medium, which said means forms a special feature of the invention and tends towards simplification of construction, oporation and reduction of expense, in machines of this character.

Withthe above mentioned and other obv jects in view, the invention consists in the 1 novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accoinpanying drawings, and set forthin the 9 claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be re- 7 sorted to without departing from the s irit or sacrificing any of the advantages 0 the invention. Y Referring to' the drawings:

Fi :1 represents an end laun ry drier constructed in accordance with the present invention. I

Fig. 2 represents a vertical sectional view of the drier showing the valves as when ar- 6 rangsd to circulate hot air through the dryin iig. 3 represents a fragmentary end elevation, particularly illustratingithe valve operating mechanismsand the valves in open position.

Fig. 4 re resents 'a'sfragmentary side .e1e-' vationof t e'*valve 0 rating means in po- 'sition assumed when t e valves are arranged :tointroduce hot air. i In'th bodiment of theinvention illusopenin' elevation of a' .coils 'an the openings 6 and:8, p immediate trated in detail in the accompanying draw- 'in 1 designates a casing supported upon elongated ,air intake openings,designated 6, and 8. The lower" side of the chamber 3 1s fully opened and permits air taken in through the openings 6, 7. and 8 to pass through the perforations in the cylinder of the drum and into the space between the drum and cylinder. On the lower side of the casing is a discharge opening 9 from which a i e 10 leads to a suitable suction fan 11. en this fan is in operation, air

is drawn through the, openings in the top of the chamber 3, from thence through the drum 4: and around the drum out through the opening 9 and pipe "10, where it is discharged by the fan 11.

Toprovide for heating air drawn. in through the openings 6, 7 and 8, particularly air which is taken in through the openingsfi and 8, a plurality of heating pipes in coils, designated 12 and 13 'respectivel are arranged inthe chamber 3. The coi 12 is ar-' ranged immediately beneath the opening 6,

whereas the coil 13. is arranged beneath the 8. These coils are supplied with steam om asuitable sour of en shown, as is customary in the art. though I have showna steam coil heatin arrangement, it is to be understood that may use any gother heatingmeans suitable for the purpose, These coils are arranged so that there is provided a suitable open space or vertical path designated14'between the,- two central opening 7. Valves desi ated 15, 16

1y, not

which path is in line with the and 17 in the form'ofplates hinged on the wall l5, control the openings 6,7 and- 8.

to When the valves 15 and 17 are opened and the valve 16 closed, the air drawn 1n through IY downward around andbetween the'pipes of the-coils 12 and 1 3 and is heated prior to its circulation through'thedrum 4; By opening the central valve 16, as well as the ones 15 and 17, the heated air may be tempered by-relatively cool air which enters through the opening 7 and passes downward through the path 14 into the casing 1. Upon closing the valves 16 and 17, and opening the valve the others are opened, the heated air may be nates the necessity of Widely spaced hot and tempered as desired.

This simple arrangement makes possible a simple and effective operating means of a nature such that by manipulation of a single lever or operating member, the complete control of the air as a drying medium may be had. I am aware of driers which provide for intaking' of cold and hot air but these driers have. the hot air and cold air intake openings located at different widely separated points in the casing or chamber instead of in one wall, and require separate valve means which may be independently operated to regulate the intaking of the air. The arrangement of this invention elimicold air intake openings and separate valve means controlling said openings.

The operating means above referred to comprises a lever 18 which is pivoted substantially centrally of its ends as at 19 on one end wall of the chamber 3 and which is curved as at 20 between the pivot and its lower end. One end of an operating bar 21 is pivoted as at 22 to the curved end of the lever 18 and this bar is slidably supported in a keeper 23 mounted on the chamber 3.

On the free end of the bar 21 is a grip or handle 24. A link 25 is pivoted at one end as at 26 to the upper end of the lever 18 and at the other end is pivoted as at 27 to a crank arm 28 extending upwardly from. the valve 17. Between the pivots 19 and 26 a link 29 is pivoted as at 30 on the lever 18. This link is pivoted as at 31 to the valve 15. Pivoted at itsends to the valves 15 and 16 is a link 32. This arrangement of links and levers is such that when the valves 15 and 17 are fully closed, the cold air intake valve 16 will be fully opened and vice versa, although by adjusting the operating means as shown in Fig. 3, the three valves may be simultaneously partly opened.

The normal position of the valves and operating mechanism is shown in Fig. 1,the

valves 15 and 17 being closed and the valve 16 being open. With the mechanism in this position, when it is desired to circulate heated air through the drier, the handle 24 is grasped'and the bar 21 pulled outward into position shown in Fig. 4. When this bar is pulled outward, the lever 18 is rocked in such manner that the links 25 and 26 cause the valves 15 and 17 to be lifted into upright, fully open position. When the valve 15 is open or raised, it operates through the link 32 to lower and close the valve 16. Air drawn in through the openings 6 and 8 controlled by the valves 16 and 17, passes directly downward through the heated zones provided by the heating coils 12 and, 13, and is thoroughly heated on entering the casing 1 and drum 4. The air is introduced into thevdrum by means of the suctionfan 11. If it is desired to regulate the hotair, to temper it by introducing cool air, the bar 21 is adjusted so that the notch 33 will engage with the keeper 23 to hold the operating mechanism in the position, as shown in Fig. 3. This causes the valves 15 and 17 to assume partly open position and partly opens the valve 16, which latter allows air to enter through the opening 7 and pass through the path 14 into the drier or casing 1.

After the hot or drying operation and it is ,necessary to introduce cool air into the drier to complete the drying operation, all that need be done is to move the rod 21 inward into its normal position, shown in Fig. 1. On this movement of the rod, the lever 18 through the links 25, 26 and 32, causes the valves 15 and 17 to cover the openings 6 and 8 and the valve 16 to uncover the opening 7. The air thus drawn into the drier passes directly downward through the passage 14 Without coming into contact with the coils 12 and 13 sufficient to appreciably heat it. This air 1s therefore comparatively cool and on being drawn through the drum 4, completes the drying operation. The main advantage of the apparatus of this invention is the provision for. effective controlling of the air by means of a simple and easily operable lever or bar 21, which when moved into different positions will provide for temperingof hot air and cool air as desired, all this b-elng obtained by an arrangement of three or more openings in one wall of the chamber 3, and essentially one operating mechanism. By this arrangementa great deal of time is saved in the operation of the machine and the cost of manufacture and up-keep is materially lessened as compared to those machines which have separate widely spaced hot and cold air intake openings and individual valve mechanism for said openings. By this arrangement the construction of the easing of the drier and the heating arrangement is simplified and made more eflic-ient.

I claim:

1. In a laundry drier the combination with a casing having a plurality of air intake pe g in e upper Part thereo and an air outlet opening in a lower part thereof, of a suction pump connected with the outlet opening, a perforated drying drum mounted in the casing between the intake'and outlet openings, air heating means arranged betweenthe drum and certain of the intake openings, in such manner that. an unobstructed air passage between the drum and one of the intake openings is provided, and valves controlling said intake openings.

2. In a laundry drier the combination with a casing having a plurality of air intake openin s in an upper wall thereof, and an air outlet opening in a lower wall, of a suction pump connected into and through-the casing, a perforated drying drum mounted in the casing between the intake and outlet openings, air heating means arranged between the drum and certain of the intake openings in such manner that an unobstructed air passage between the drum and one ofthe intake openings is provided, valves controlling said intake openings, and means for operating said valves including a single operating member which when moved into one position will open the valve for the intake opening which is in registration with the unobstructed passage and close the other valves and when moved into another position will close the valve for the opening which registers with the unobstructed passage and open the valves for the other intake openings.

3. In a laundry drier the combination with a casing having a plurality of air' intake openings in an upper wall thereof, and an air outlet opening in a lower wall, of a suction pump connected with the outlet opening for drawing air through said openings into and through the casing, a, perforated drying drum mounted in the casing between the intake and outletopenings, air heating means arranged between the drum and certain oftlie intake openings in such manner that an unobstructed air passage between the drum and one of the intake openings is provided, valves controlling said intake openings and means for operating said valves including a single operating member which when moved into one position will open the valve for the intake opening which is in registration with the unobstructed passage and close the other valves and when moved into another position will close the valve for the opening which registers with the unobstructed passage and open the valves for the other intake openings and when moved into still another position will partly open all of said valves.

MAURICE DUCASSE. 

